Chapter 4

Alex let the last scrap fall onto the desk, and then lifted his gaze to meet hers.

Those pale amber eyes were still the same, but everything inside them had changed. The calm and the distance were gone. Now they swirled with a deep, stormy darkness, like the sky before a tempest, raw and ready to tear through everything in its path.

His stare, heavy and suffocating, locked her in place. "Freedom?" he said, his voice lower and rougher than usual, the word ending with a trace of irony that felt utterly foreign.

He rose from behind the desk slowly. The hem of his shirt brushed the edge as he walked around and came toward her. His steps were slow and steady, but each one landed in her chest, matching the beat of her heart.

Charlotte tried to step back, but he was already right in front of her. Up close, she finally saw the fierce possessiveness burning in his eyes. It was so intense that it looked ready to consume her.

He looked nothing like the cold, distant prince she thought she knew. She had never seen him like this before, and the unfamiliar look sent a chill through her.

"Did you forget, Charlotte?" Alex leaned in, closing the space between them. His warm breath brushed her forehead, but his words were cold enough to pierce her. "The day we married, we were tied together."

His voice dropped even lower, almost a whisper, but each word rang clear in her ears. "If we're going to hell, we're going together."

Charlotte's breath caught, and her blood ran cold. She looked at Alex like the man in front of her was a stranger.

Alex let out a soft, almost mocking laugh. It was so faint it barely registered, and it only made his eyes look even darker. He raised his hand, not to touch Charlotte, but to reach for the front of his own shirt.

Another sharp rrriiipp cut through the silence. The sound of fabric ripping echoed harshly in the quiet night. Using nothing but his bare hands, Alex tore a long strip of cloth from the hem of his shirt, about two inches wide.

Charlotte was so shocked she forgot to react, staring as Alex picked up the strip of cloth and then took her left wrist firmly in his hand.

His fingers were icy cold, but the grip was strong and she couldn't pull away. He began winding one end of the cloth around her delicate wrist.

"Alex? What are you—" Charlotte finally managed to speak, her voice shaky as she struggled to free her hand.

Alex paused and lifted his eyes to hers. The candlelight flickered in his gaze, stirring the storm of desire inside him.

Beneath that, something deeper and hotter rose up, threatening to break through his usual cold mask. It wasn't anger. It was a need that had been bottled up for so long, twisted and intense, nearly driving him mad.

"What?" Alex shot back, his voice rough and low. But his hands kept moving. He wrapped the cloth around her wrist, firm and steady, not too tight, but impossible to escape. The gesture was full of possessive intent.

"Sweetie," he said, taking his time. His fingertips brushed the soft skin inside her wrist, making her shiver. "Do you even know how I made it through all three years?"

After wrapping the cloth around her wrist several times, he tied a simple, firm knot. He released her hand, but instead of stepping back, he moved in even closer, his shadow enveloping her, making her feel small beneath his gaze.

He leaned down until his lips almost touched her ear. His breath was hot against her skin. "Every time you smiled at me, even if it was only for show, I wanted to bind you like this," he murmured, his voice rough and low.

Charlotte's breath caught as an overwhelming sense of absurdity and fear seized her, leaving her frozen in place.

His lips moved slowly from her ear to her cheek. His voice sank even lower. It was soft in a way that sent chills down her spine, twisted with an obsession that had finally snapped. "I want you to only ever look at me."

As the last word left his lips, he pressed his mouth hard against hers.

This wasn't a gentle kiss or a soft caress. It was three years of pent-up, wild possessiveness. Rough. Almost ferocious.

He ground against her, invading her mouth without restraint. His other arm locked around her waist like an iron band, pulling her so close there wasn't even a breath of space left between them.

The heat and chill of their lips crashed together, fierce and unstoppable, sweeping over her like a tide she had no hope of resisting.